Where does “ballot” come from?
ballot (French) comes from French balle, from Middle French balle, from Italian balla, from Old French balle, from Medieval Latin balla, from Frankish balla, from Proto-Germanic balluz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰel-.
ballot (French): bundle, package; fool, nitwit
Definitions
- bundle, package; fool, nitwit
Ancestry of “ballot”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | balle | (small) ball |
| 2 | Middle French | balle | ball; bundle |
| 3 | Italian | balla | large bundle, torsello, bale, reap; falsehood,... |
| 4 | Old French | balle | — |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | balla | — |
| 6 | Frankish | balla | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | balluz | round object, ball; ball of the hand, foot, etc |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |